Copyright © 2018 by McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of
publisher.
ISBN: 978-1-26-012094-3 MHID: 1-26-012094-5
The material in this eBook also appears in the print version of this title: ISBN: 978-1-26-012093-6, MHID: 1-26-012093-7.
eBook conversion by codeMantra Version 1.0
All trademarks are trademarks of their respective owners. Rather than put a trademark symbol after every occurrence of a trademarked name, we use names in an editorial fashion only, and to the benefit of the trademark owner, with no intention of infringement of the trademark. Where such designations appear in this book, they have been printed with initial caps.
McGraw-Hill Education ebooks are available at special quantity discounts to use as premiums and sales promotions or for use in corporate training programs. To contact a representative, please visit the Contact Us page at www.mhprofessional.com.
McGraw-Hill Language Lab App
Interactive quizzes are available to support your study of this book. Go to www.mhlanguagelab.com to access the online version of this application or to locate links to the mobile app for iOS and
Android devices. Alternatively, search “McGraw-Hill Education Language Lab” in the iTunes app store or Google Play store.
TERMS OF USE
This is a copyrighted work and McGraw-Hill Education and its licensors reserve all rights in and to the work. Use of this work is subject to these terms. Except as permitted under the Copyright Act of 1976 and the right to store and retrieve one copy of the work, you may not decompile, disassemble, reverse engineer, reproduce, modify, create derivative works based upon, transmit, distribute,
disseminate, sell, publish or sublicense the work or any part of it without McGraw-Hill Education’s prior consent. You may use the work for your own noncommercial and personal use; any other use of the work is strictly prohibited. Your right to use the work may be terminated if you fail to comply with these terms.
THE WORK IS PROVIDED “AS IS.” McGRAW-HILL EDUCATION AND ITS LICENSORS MAKE NO GUARANTEES OR WARRANTIES AS TO THE ACCURACY, ADEQUACY OR COMPLETENESS OF OR RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED FROM USING THE WORK,
OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. McGraw-Hill Education and its licensors do not warrant or guarantee that the functions contained in the work will meet your requirements or that its operation will be uninterrupted or error free. Neither McGraw-Hill Education nor its licensors shall be liable to you or anyone else for any inaccuracy, error or omission,
regardless of cause, in the work or for any damages resulting therefrom. McGraw-Hill Education has no responsibility for the content of any information accessed through the work. Under no
circumstances shall McGraw-Hill Education and/or its licensors be liable for any indirect,
incidental, special, punitive, consequential or similar damages that result from the use of or inability to use the work, even if any of them has been advised of the possibility of such damages. This
Contents
Introduction
Unit 1 Nouns
Unit 2 Definite and Indefinite Articles
Unit 3 Adjectives
Unit 4 Personal Pronouns
Unit 5 Verbs
Unit 6 Auxiliary Verbs
Unit 7 Passive Voice
Unit 8 Subjunctive Mood
Unit 9 Adverbs
Review Exercises 1 Unit 10 Contractions
Unit 11 Plurals
Unit 12 Punctuation
Unit 13 Infinitives and Gerunds
Unit 14 Relative Pronouns
Unit 15 Reflexive Pronouns
Unit 16 Possession
Unit 17 Possessive Pronouns
Unit 19 Capitalization
Review Exercises 2
Unit 20 Comparative and Superlative Forms
Unit 21 Conjunctions
Unit 22 Interrogatives
Unit 23 Negation
Unit 24 Numbers
Unit 25 Some Important Contrasts
Review Exercises 3
Introduction
Many people consider learning grammar a chore. And at times, it can be. But understanding the grammar of any language is essential for becoming a skilled and accurate user of that language. English is certainly no exception.
The rules of grammar for a language learner are like the rules of the road for a driver. In order to be able to drive properly and maneuver with other drivers, you have to know the rules that everyone goes by. Naturally, some people break the rules and make driving difficult for other drivers. This is true of language, too. If you follow the rules of grammar, you can express yourself clearly. But if you fail to observe those rules, people may find it difficult to understand you or they may even
misunderstand you entirely. So it’s really very important to understand and use correct grammar. But what is grammar? Funk and Wagnalls’s New College Standard Dictionary describes grammar as “a type of science that explains the various principles of oral or written usage of a particular
language.” It is also said to be “the developed art of speaking or writing accurately in a particular language.” Whether science or art, grammar is made up of the descriptions that tell you how to use a language correctly. For example:
Description: Begin a sentence with do to change a statement to a question. Usage: Statement = “You understand the problem.”
Question = “Do you understand the problem?” Or:
Description: Use he as the subject of a sentence; use him as the direct object. Usage: Subject = “He is a good friend of mine.”
Direct Object = “I visit him very often.”
There are many such grammatical descriptions, and each one is a building block in the structure of your knowledge of how to form and use English correctly. The greater the number of building blocks that you master, the greater your accuracy with the spoken and written language will be.
Standard grammar is composed of the traditional rules for English. It is what grammarians and English professors want everyone to use when they speak and write. But a language evolves over time, and the traditional rules sometimes seem out of step with what is going on in the English-speaking world. The more current or popular usages can be called casual language. That’s what people really say in their everyday lives and is often in direct contradiction with standard grammar. As an illustration, in standard grammar you should use who as the subject of a sentence and use whom
Standard grammar: “Whom did you visit in New York?” Casual language: “Who did you visit in New York?”
Although the first example is considered better grammatically, the second example sentence is the most commonly used.
Another kind of example involves the verb to dive. Its past tense is either regular (dived) or irregular (dove). What is the difference? Essentially, none. Both forms are used correctly as the past tense. But English is evolving. Things are changing. And the English-speaking world is deciding whether it wants the past tense of the verb to dive to be regular or irregular. It may take quite a while longer to learn what that decision will be. So for the time being you’ll continue to hear both dived and dove in the past tense.
There is a similar case with the verb to prove. Nowadays, many people use proved as the participle in a perfect tense: “He has proved” or “We had not proved.” But there are others who still use the archaic form (proven), which today is generally accepted as an adjective, in place of proved: “He has proven” or “We had not proven.”
The point here is that grammar rules will guide you toward speaking and writing better English. But many rules of grammar are broken by certain casual or popular usages and still others become unclear because the language is in a state of transition. Where these deviations occur, they will be discussed in this book, because if English learners only know that who should be used as a subject of a
sentence, they will be confused by what occurs in casual language: “Who did you visit in New York?”
However, just knowing the rules of grammar is not enough. This book will also provide you with abundant practice in using English grammar. The more you practice, the more you become proficient in how you use English and to what extent you understand it. There are various kinds of exercises to allow you to manipulate the language from different angles. The Answer Key at the end of the book gives you not only the right answers but also suggestions as to how an exercise should be completed. English grammar isn’t necessarily a chore. Indeed, it can be your key to unlocking a very rich
Unit 1
Nouns
Nouns can be either proper or common. Proper nouns are those that refer to a particular person, place, thing, or idea. Such nouns are capitalized: America, George Washington, Mr. Neruda,
October.
Nouns that do not refer to a particular person, place, thing, or idea are common nouns. They are not capitalized: land, girls, money, test. Compare the following list of proper and common nouns:
exercise 1-1
Next to each noun write the word proper or common. 1. ____________________ France
2. ____________________ rope
9. ____________________ Dr. Blanchard 10. ____________________ our school
exercise 1-2
Rewrite each noun, capitalizing the proper nouns.
1. ____________________ glass
2. ____________________ rocky mountains 3. ____________________ mexico
4. ____________________ flowers 5. ____________________ bus 6. ____________________ the store
7. ____________________ new york times 8. ____________________ roberto
9. ____________________ professor romano 10. ____________________ my books
Nouns can be used as the subject of a sentence. The subject is the word that is performing the action in the sentence. The subject can be a proper noun or a common noun, and it can be singular or plural:
Juanita is a friend of mine.
The boys like to play soccer. Where is the school?
Nouns can also be used as direct objects. The direct object in a sentence is the noun that receives the action of the verb. To find the direct object in a sentence do three things:
1. Find the subject of the sentence. 2. Find the verb in the sentence.
Nouns are sometimes indirect objects. They stand before the direct object in the sentence. It is the person to whom or for whom something is provided. To find the indirect object in a sentence do three things:
1. Find the subject of the sentence. 2. Find the verb in the sentence.
3. Ask to whom or for whom with the subject and the verb. Look at these sample sentences:
Note: It is rare that something inanimate is used as an indirect object.
When a noun is used as a predicate noun, it follows the predicate in the sentence. The predicate can be a single verb or a verb phrase:
Verb as the predicate: Maria helps us.
Verb phrase as the predicate: Maria usually helps with the gardening. Predicate nouns most often follow the verbs to be and to become:
My mother wants to be a doctor. Celine became an actress.
Are you the manager of this building?
exercise 1-3
Look at the italicized word in each sentence. Decide how it is used, then write subject, direct object, indirect object, or predicate noun in the blank.
1. ____________________ Claudia likes Bret.
3. ____________________ The girls found some money. 4. ____________________ My father is an engineer. 5. ____________________ I sent my sister a telegram.
6. ____________________ Tomas buys Serena three red roses. 7. ____________________ Is the woman at home now?
8. ____________________ Mr. Jimenez became a pilot. 9. ____________________ He needs a new car.
10. ____________________ Carmen gives them the books.
exercise 1-4
Write a sentence using the noun given as a direct object.
EXAMPLES: the boy
Barbara sees the boy in the park.
1. my sister
_________________________________________________________________________________ 2. a new car
_________________________________________________________________________________ 3. Jackie
_________________________________________________________________________________
Write a sentence using the word given as an indirect object.
4. the children
_________________________________________________________________________________ 5. a puppy
_________________________________________________________________________________ 6. Grandfather
_________________________________________________________________________________
Using the phrase in parentheses, answer each question using that phrase as the direct or indirect object.
EXAMPLES: (Yolanda) Whom does Gerry meet? Gerry meets Yolanda.
1. (the boys) Whom does the girl not trust?
_________________________________________________________________________________ 2. (his wallet) What does Father often misplace?
_________________________________________________________________________________ 3. (the landlord) To whom does she always give the rent money?
_________________________________________________________________________________ 4. (her new computer) What does Anita want to sell soon?
_________________________________________________________________________________ 5. (her grandchildren) For whom does she buy the toys?
_________________________________________________________________________________ 6. (Ms. Johnson) Whom must you visit in New York?
_________________________________________________________________________________ 7. (their new house) What do they like so much?
_________________________________________________________________________________ 8. (little Johnny) To whom can she give the present?
_________________________________________________________________________________ 9. (Dr. Lee) Whom does he need to see today?
_________________________________________________________________________________ 10. (Michael) To whom does she throw the ball?
Unit 2
Definite and Indefinite Articles
The English definite article is the. It is used to identify a particular person or thing. If you are speaking about someone or something you are already familiar with, you use the with the noun. Look at these examples:
I already know the man.
She met the women who won the lottery. This is the book that I told you about.
The indefinite article is used to describe someone or something that is unfamiliar to you or about which you are speaking in general. There are two forms: a and an. Use a before a word beginning with a consonant. Use an before a word beginning with a vowel. Look at these examples:
He sees a stranger on the corner. Did you buy an apple or an orange? Is the woman a good lawyer?
She has an idea.
Compare the difference between the definite and indefinite article by using these sentences: I want an apple. (I do not see an apple. But I feel hungry for one.)
I want the apple. (I am choosing between the apple and the orange that I see before me.)
The definite article for plural nouns is also the. But there is no indefinite article for plural nouns. The plural articles are used in the same way as the singular articles.
Fill in the blank with either the definite or indefinite article, whichever makes the best sense.
1. Did you buy a Ford or ___________ Chevy? 2. Does he know ___________ man on the corner? 3. She has ___________ secret to tell you.
4. What time does ___________ train leave?
5. We need ___________ hot dogs and a bottle of Coke. 6. Did you see ___________ accident?
7. He met ___________ guests as they arrived. 8. ___________ teacher is angry with us. 9. I can’t find ___________ keys.
10. Is that _______ snake in that tree?
exercise 2-2
Rewrite each sentence, changing the singular nouns in each sentence to plural nouns. Make any changes to the articles and verbs that are necessary.
1. They gave us an orange.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 2. I like the book very much.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 3. Do you often visit the farm there?
_________________________________________________________________________________ 4. A rabbit is hiding behind it.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 5. Katrina likes to play with the kitten.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Follow the same directions, but change the plural nouns to singular.
6. Montel has dogs and cats.
7. I want to buy the roses.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 8. There are gifts for you.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 9. Can you hear the babies crying?
_________________________________________________________________________________ 10. Do you have brothers or sisters?
Unit 3
Adjectives
Adjectives are words that describe nouns. They tell the size, color, or quality of something: a big
room, the red car, four interesting books. Here are some commonly used adjectives:
exercise 3-1
Circle the adjective that makes more sense in the sentence.
1. I often go to a green/late movie. 2. Their little/right boy is six years old. 3. The wrong/young teacher is very smart. 4. We took the fast/loose train to New York. 5. The old/funny story made me laugh.
9. The new house has boring/white doors. 10. The green/short boy is my cousin.
Just like nouns, adjectives can follow the predicate. They most often come after forms of the verbs to be and to become:
My sister was very sad.
The horse suddenly became thirsty. My grandfather is old.
exercise 3-2
Look at the example sentences. Change each sentence so that the adjective follows the predicate.
EXAMPLES: The white house is on the hill. The house on the hill is white.
1. The sad song was from Mexico.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 2. The funny story is about a clown.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 3. The careless waiter is out of work.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 4. The ugly snake is from Egypt.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 5. The beautiful woman is from Spain.
_________________________________________________________________________________
exercise 3-3
Fill in the blank with any adjective that makes sense. You may choose from the list given at the beginning of the unit.
1. David wrote a ____________________ poem for her. 2. Do you like the ____________________ cake?
4. Where does the ____________________ lawyer live? 5. Marisa needs a ____________________ job.
6. The ____________________ man found a ____________________ wallet. 7. Kareem is a ____________________ friend of mine.
8. There is a ____________________ test tomorrow.
Unit 4
Personal Pronouns
Pronouns are words that take the place of nouns. The English personal pronouns are:
Notice that you is both singular and plural. When speaking to one person, say you. When speaking to two or more persons, say you:
Tim, you are a very good student.
Bruno and Rene, you have to study more.
Just as nouns have gender, pronouns also do. I, we, and you can be used by males or females. He is always masculine, she is always feminine, and it is always neuter. The plural of the third-person pronouns is always they, whether masculine, feminine, or neuter. And just like nouns, pronouns can be used as:
1. the subject of a sentence 2. a direct object
3. an indirect object
If a pronoun replaces a noun in the sentence, it must have the same characteristics as the noun: the same number (singular or plural), the same gender (masculine, feminine, or neuter), and the same use in the sentence (subject, direct object, or indirect object). Look at these examples where the pronoun replaces the italicized noun:
Notice that the nouns and pronouns are in the third person. This is true when a pronoun replaces a noun. But when a noun or pronoun is combined with the first-person singular pronoun I, it is replaced by the first-person plural pronoun we:
You and I have work to do. ➞ We have work to do.
He helps the girls and me. ➞ He helps us.
exercise 4-1
Look at the pronoun given in parentheses. Fill in the blank in the sentence with its correct form.
6. (Kris and I) Please give ____________ the magazines. 7. (you and I) ____________ worked in the garden.
8. (they) Are ____________ your friends?
9. (we) The puppy followed ____________ home. 10. (they) My brother saw ____________ in New York. 11. (you) Mikhail wants to visit ____________ today. 12. (I) When can ____________ move into the apartment? 13. (it) Derrick bought ____________ in Mexico.
14. (you and I) The children are helping ____________. 15. (she) I like ____________ a lot.
exercise 4-2
Change the italicized noun in each sentence to the corresponding pronoun.
1. The students came to class late. ____________ 2. I found the money in the closet. ____________
3. Her brother sent Jennifer and me a postcard. ____________ 4. Do your parents live in Florida? ____________
5. My landlady is very nice. ____________ 6. Do you know my landlady? ____________ 7. Boys can get so dirty. ____________
8. Did you lose your wallet? ____________ 9. Juan visits his uncle often. ____________ 10. May I borrow your watch? ____________
exercise 4-3
Change the italicized pronoun in each sentence to any appropriate noun.
3. Where did you find them? ____________ 4. She is from Puerto Rico. ____________
5. Patricia never met him before. ____________ 6. Is he sick today? ____________
7. We sent them a box of candy. ____________ 8. It costs twenty dollars. ____________
9. The boys watched her. ____________ 10. Do they understand us? ____________
When you change a direct object noun to a direct object pronoun, you must add to or for before the indirect object noun or pronoun. The indirect object becomes the object of the preposition to or for. Place the prepositional phrase after the direct object. For example:
I gave Jay a book. ➞ I gave it to Jay.
We buy her flowers. ➞ We buy them for her.
exercise 4-4
Rewrite each sentence, changing the italicized direct object to a pronoun. Add to or for
appropriately.
1. I sent my friends a letter.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 2. She is giving us two cakes.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 3. Trey sold her his car.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 4. I didn’t buy Ella the scarf.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 5. My brother will bring me my gloves.
_________________________________________________________________________________ Nouns or pronouns can be used to complete a prepositional phrase. That is a phrase made up of a
after, behind, between, for, from, in, near, on, of, through, to, with, without Look at these sample prepositional phrases:
In a prepositional phrase, use the same form of the pronoun that is used as a direct or indirect object:
exercise 4-5
Complete the sentences, changing the subject pronoun in parentheses to an object pronoun.
1. (I) They have a gift for ____________. 2. (you) I sent some flowers to ____________.
3. (he) Karen often comes home without ____________. 4. (she) I like dancing with ____________.
5. (it) We found something in ____________. 6. (we) Teresa sits near ____________. 7. (they) This is a letter from ____________.
8. (Dwayne and I) He is speaking of ____________.
exercise 4-6
Change the italicized noun to a pronoun.
1. We are driving through the tunnel. ____________ 2. A wolf was standing between the boys. ____________ 3. Do you want to ride in my car? ____________
Unit 5
Verbs
Verbs are the words in a sentence that describe the action of a sentence or that introduce the condition or state of someone or something in the sentence.
Action: Anna throws the ball.
Introduction of a condition: Trent is very sick.
There are many action verbs. Those that can have a direct object are often called transitive verbs. Here is a list of some commonly used transitive verbs. Note that they can be used with a direct object.
Still other verbs introduce the condition or state of someone or something. They do not take a direct object and are most often followed by an adjective. These verbs are usually called linking verbs. Here are some commonly used linking verbs:
Careful! Some of the linking verbs have a second usage. They can be used as transitive verbs. Look at these examples:
Linking Verb: His skin feels hot. (hot = adjective)
Transitive Verb: He feels a sharp pain. (a sharp pain = direct object) Linking Verb: The sky grows cloudy. (adjective)
Transitive Verb: We grow vegetables. (direct object) Linking Verb: That smells beautiful. (adjective)
Transitive Verb: She smells the flowers. (direct object) Linking Verb: My coffee tastes bitter. (adjective)
You can identify linking verbs by substituting am, is, or are for the verb. If the sentence makes sense with the substitution, it is a linking verb. If it does not make sense, it is a transitive verb. Some
examples:
It feels cold. (It is cold.) This makes sense. = Linking Verb
He feels her pulse. (He is her pulse.) This makes no sense. = Transitive Verb They smell nice. (They are nice.) This makes sense. = Linking Verb
We smell coffee. (We are coffee.) This makes no sense. = Transitive Verb
exercise 5-1
Look at the verb in each sentence. Decide what kind of verb it is. Then write transitive, intransitive,
or linking in the space provided.
1. ____________________ Kirsten asks a good question. 2. ____________________ We went to Mexico.
3. ____________________ Do you understand German? 4. ____________________ It grows very dark.
5. ____________________ Emily appears healthy again. 6. ____________________ Mother bought a new car.
7. ____________________ The cat jumps from the sofa to the chair. 8. ____________________ Do they want tickets for the movie? 9. ____________________ The milk is too hot.
10. ____________________ Grandfather grows corn and potatoes in his garden.
The Present Tense
When the verb ends in the vowel -o, add -es for the third-person singular pronouns: do ➞ does
Can and must are special auxiliary verbs. They never have an ending change in the present tense. There are other auxiliaries that do the same thing. They will be taken up later.
exercise 5-2
Rewrite each sentence with the pronouns shown.
6. I must work tomorrow. They
_________________________________________________________________________________ He
_________________________________________________________________________________ 7. They borrow some money.
I
_________________________________________________________________________________ She
_________________________________________________________________________________ 8. He sends a few postcards.
You
_________________________________________________________________________________ We
_________________________________________________________________________________ 9. You can spend the night here.
He
_________________________________________________________________________________ They
_________________________________________________________________________________ 10. It grows very slowly.
They
_________________________________________________________________________________ He
_________________________________________________________________________________
There are two special verbs that have more complicated ending changes in the present tense:
exercise 5-3
Rewrite each sentence with the pronouns shown.
7. He has no tickets.
Circle the boldface word that best completes each sentence.
1. They goes/have no time today. 2. My aunt can/lives in New York.
3. She/They speaks English and Spanish. 4. We are/am Americans.
9. She likes/see her neighbors. 10. You/She goes to the store.
Asking Questions
A sentence that has the verb to be in it is easily formed as a question. Just invert the position of the verb and the subject. Look at these examples:
All other verbs, including to have, form a question by using the verb to do (do, does). The verb to do
is conjugated for the subject of the sentence. The original verb in the sentence becomes an infinitive. English infinitives begin with the word to: to run, to jump, to sing, and so on. Sometimes the word to
is omitted: run, jump, sing, and so on. The word to is omitted in questions.
exercise 5-5
Change each sentence to a question.
1. Rocco’s uncle lives in Washington.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 2. She is his cousin.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 3. We take this road to Chicago.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 4. They are in the garden.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 5. I have your new address.
6. I am your student.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 7. Linda likes Jack.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 8. You buy flowers every day.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 9. She sings beautifully.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 10. It is a nice day.
_________________________________________________________________________________
exercise 5-6
Change each question to a statement.
1. Are the boys at home?
_________________________________________________________________________________ 2. Do you want this book?
_________________________________________________________________________________ 3. Does she have the money?
_________________________________________________________________________________ 4. Am I your friend now?
_________________________________________________________________________________ 5. Does he go there every day?
_________________________________________________________________________________ 6. Is it in there?
_________________________________________________________________________________ 7. Do you understand English?
_________________________________________________________________________________ 8. Does the boy feel better?
9. Are you in the garden?
_________________________________________________________________________________ 10. Do we have enough money?
_________________________________________________________________________________
Negation
Add not after the verb to be to make it negative: I am ➞ I am not
you are ➞ you are not
she is ➞ she is not
we are ➞ we are not
they are ➞ they are not
With all other verbs, use do/does and not to make a verb negative. Do is conjugated for the subject of the sentence, and the original verb becomes an infinitive. The structure is do + not + infinitive. Look at these examples:
exercise 5-7
Negate each sentence by adding not to it.
1. Delores is in the capital.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 2. We have enough money now.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 3. My father sends him a postcard.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 4. The books are on the table.
5. I go home late.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 6. I am an American.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 7. The girls buy some ice cream.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 8. We do our homework.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 9. Lisa likes my cousin.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 10. It seems very old.
_________________________________________________________________________________ When a negative sentence becomes a question, the question begins with do/does as described earlier:
you do not know ➞ do you not know?
Mary does not have ➞ does Mary not have?
Even when negated, the verb to be does not form a question with do/does: I am not ➞ am I not?
she is not ➞ is she not?
they are not ➞ are they not?
Some example sentences:
exercise 5-8
Rewrite each negative sentence as a negative question.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 6. Sean does not speak Spanish.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 7. The boys do not make a cake for her.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 8. They do not do this very often.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 9. Mother does not have enough money.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 10. I am not happy about it.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Three Forms of the Present Tense
English has three ways of expressing the present tense. You already know one way: Conjugate the verb by adding appropriate endings: I sing, we go, he has, she is, they want, Toni finds. This formation of the present tense has a special meaning. It says that someone does something as a habit or frequently.
Let’s compare the three forms:
Habitual Statement (something done frequently) I speak English.
We go to school. They play soccer.
In Progress (incomplete) I am speaking English. We are going to school. They are playing soccer. Emphatic Response
“You do not speak English.” ➞ “I do speak English.”
“We go to school.” ➞ “We do not go to school.”
“They do not play soccer.” ➞ “They do play soccer.”
When you use an adverb that shows that an action is done frequently (often, sometimes,
always, usually, every day, etc.), you should use the habitual form of the present tense: I often listen to jazz. We sometimes talk on the phone. Travis usually works until five.
exercise 5-9
Rewrite each sentence using the adverb in parentheses. Change the verb action from being incomplete to habitual.
1. We are driving to New York. (always)
_________________________________________________________________________________ 2. She is speaking quickly. (sometimes)
_________________________________________________________________________________ 3. I am working in the garden. (often)
_________________________________________________________________________________ 4. The boys are playing tennis. (frequently)
_________________________________________________________________________________ 5. The women are traveling abroad. (every year)
_________________________________________________________________________________ 7. Michelle is talking on the phone. (always)
_________________________________________________________________________________ 8. My brother is sleeping in the living room. (sometimes)
_________________________________________________________________________________ 9. They are cooking a roast. (usually)
_________________________________________________________________________________ 10. His sister is helping them. (every day)
_________________________________________________________________________________
exercise 5-10
Give an emphatic response to each statement.
EXAMPLES: He does not speak English. He does speak English.
1. She does not understand the problem.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 2. We go to the movies often.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 3. I do not like that dress.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 4. Mac wants to sell the old car.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 5. Mr. Tyner writes him a long letter.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 6. The boys do not work in this factory.
_________________________________________________________________________________
The Past Tense
tense formations, there are also three past tense formations: (1) a habitual or frequent action, (2) an action in progress or incomplete, and (3) an emphatic response in the past tense.
The past tense conjugation of a habitual or frequent action is quite simple. Just add -ed to the end of a regular verb. If the verb ends in a consonant followed by a -y, drop the -y and add -ied. If a one-syllable verb ends in a single consonant, double that consonant and add -ed. Look at these examples:
The verbs listed above are regular verbs. They form their past tense by the addition of -ed. There are also irregular verbs. They form their past tense by making a change within the stem of the verb. It is usually a vowel change, but there can also be a consonant change as well. Following are the irregular past tense forms of some commonly used verbs:
You will find a complete list of irregular tense formations in the appendix.
Use the past tense of to be (was/were) plus an -ing ending on the verb to form the past tense of an action in progress or incomplete. There is no difference for regular or irregular verbs:
to sing ➞ was singing
to go ➞ was going
to carry ➞ was carrying, and so on
Habitual Statement (something done frequently) I spoke English.
We went to school. They played soccer. In Progress (incomplete) I was speaking English. We were going to school. They were playing soccer. Emphatic Response
“You did not speak English.” ➞ “I did speak English.”
“We went to school.” ➞ “We did not go to school.”
“They did not play soccer.” ➞ “They did play soccer.”
Questions and negations with not are formed with the past tense of to do (did) in the same way they are formed in the present tense:
exercise 5-11
Rewrite each sentence in the past tense.
1. Susan helps her friends.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 2. We go to the movies.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 3. She is washing the car.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 4. My father is in the kitchen.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 5. She does not understand you.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 7. Do you always speak Spanish?
_________________________________________________________________________________ 8. The girls are riding on a horse.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 9. He catches the ball.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 10. They play chess after supper.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 11. Someone has my wallet.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 12. Does Mr. Ibrahim live here?
_________________________________________________________________________________ 13. They are learning a new language.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 14. Karen works in New Orleans.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 15. You often make mistakes.
_________________________________________________________________________________
exercise 5-12
Change the habitual past tense to a past tense action in progress or incomplete.
EXAMPLES: I studied it.
I was studying it.
1. He wrote a letter.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 2. My mother sat in the garden.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 4. The man brought us some fish.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 5. We lost the game.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 6. The boys hurried home.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 7. The dog buried a bone in the yard.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 8. I had a bad day.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 9. They went to the store.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 10. He stayed with an uncle.
_________________________________________________________________________________
exercise 5-13
Change each past tense sentence to a question.
1. They made some mistakes.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 2. Will played a few games of cards.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 3. The girls saw the comet.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 4. Her aunt carried the basket into the kitchen.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 5. They were in the city all day.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 7. She was home all day.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 8. Robert had the radio.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 9. The woman ran for the bus.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 10. The dogs fought over a bone.
_________________________________________________________________________________
The Present
Perfect Tense
To express something that began in the past and continues until the present use the present perfect tense. This tense has two formations: (1) the habitual or frequent action and (2) the action in progress or incomplete. The habitual present perfect tense is formed by conjugating to have (have/has) in the present tense and combining it with a past participle:
to work ➞ has worked
to carry ➞ has carried
to speak ➞ has spoken
The present perfect of an action in progress or incomplete is formed by conjugating to have
(have/has) with the participle of to be (been) and the verb with an -ing ending. The structure is to have + been + verb-ing:
to work ➞ has been working
to carry ➞ has been carrying
to speak ➞ has been speaking
In this formation there is no need to worry about irregular participles. Notice how the present perfect tense forms from the present tense:
exercise 5-14
Change the habitual present perfect tense to the present perfect tense of an action in progress or incomplete.
1. Lana has spoken with him.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 2. Has he gone to his class?
_________________________________________________________________________________ 3. I have worked all day.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 4. The tourists have flown around the world.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 5. My parents have walked along the river.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 6. Has the boy put his toys away?
_________________________________________________________________________________
exercise 5-15
Rewrite the present tense sentences in the present perfect tense.
1. Ms. Nellum takes the boy home.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 2. We ride on a bus.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 3. They are riding their bikes.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 4. Do you often make cookies?
_________________________________________________________________________________ 5. She does not understand.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 6. They are doing their homework.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 7. I am going to the same class.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 8. He often breaks his bat.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 9. They are breaking windows.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 10. Juanita writes her a letter.
_________________________________________________________________________________
exercise 5-16
Circle the boldface word that best completes each sentence.
2. We have been/went driving all day. 3. Does/Has she made fresh bread? 4. Marie did/has found your wallet.
5. I have been listening/listened to the radio. 6. They have going/been home all day.
7. My sister has going/been working in the city. 8. She/They have taken my money.
9. We have been hurried/hurrying to catch the bus. 10. Have you wrote/written the postcards?
The Past
Perfect Tense
To express an action that began in the past and ended in the past use the past perfect tense. It has two formations similar to the present perfect tense. But in the past perfect tense, the verb to have is
conjugated in the past tense (had):
to work ➞ had worked/had been working
to carry ➞ had carried/had been carrying
to speak ➞ had spoken/had been speaking
You can form a question in the present perfect or past perfect tenses by inverting the verb and the subject:
You have spoken. ➞ Have you spoken?
He had learned. ➞ Had he learned?
You can form the negative by placing not after have or had: You have spoken. ➞ You have not spoken.
He had learned. ➞ He had not learned.
exercise 5-17
Rewrite the present perfect tense sentences in the past perfect tense.
1. Julio has written him a few letters.
2. I have been writing a novel.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 3. Have you seen a doctor?
_________________________________________________________________________________ 4. She has cut her finger.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 5. The girls have stayed home again.
_________________________________________________________________________________
exercise 5-18
Rewrite the present tense sentences in the past perfect tense.
1. The woman takes the girl home.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 2. We ride on a train.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 3. I always speak Spanish.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 4. Do you often make roast beef?
_________________________________________________________________________________ 5. Rebecca does not remember.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 6. Is he doing his best?
_________________________________________________________________________________ 7. I am going to the movies.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 8. Cindy teaches us English.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 10. Bethany writes in her diary.
_________________________________________________________________________________
The Future
Tense
The future tense can be expressed in a few ways. One of the most common is to use the present tense but to imply a future tense meaning. This is done by using the present tense verb formation for an action in progress or incomplete. Look at the following examples:
Ray is going to school today. (present tense) Ray is going to school tomorrow. (future tense) They are traveling to Mexico today. (present tense) They are traveling to Mexico tomorrow. (future tense)
Another way to form the future tense is to combine the verb shall or will with an infinitive. If the action is one in progress or incomplete, use the structure shall/will + be + verb-ing:
to go ➞ I shall go/I shall be going
to speak ➞ he will speak/he will be speaking
Let’s look at the complete conjugation:
Traditionally, shall has been used for the first-person singular and plural (I and we). However, many modern speakers of English use only will.
Form a question in the future by inverting the verb and the subject: You will sing. ➞ Will you sing?
exercise 5-19
Rewrite the following present tense sentences in the future tense by using will. 1. The girls play soccer.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 2. I am learning to drive.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 3. We are not home on time.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 4. Do you recognize him?
_________________________________________________________________________________ 5. Trent is driving to Texas.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 6. The men work many hours.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 7. She flies to London every year.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 8. Dr. Saloff does not treat her asthma.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 9. The little boy loses his place.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 10. Is he going to the university?
_________________________________________________________________________________
The Future
Perfect Tense
The future perfect tense describes an action that begins and ends in the future tense. Just like other perfect tenses, it has two formations: one for a habitual or frequent action and one for
to work ➞ will have worked
to see ➞ will have seen
The structure for an action in progress or incomplete is will + have + been + verb-ing: to work ➞ will have been working
to see ➞ will have been seeing
Let’s look at the complete conjugation:
exercise 5-20
Rewrite the present tense sentences in the future perfect tense.
1. My father takes the girl to school.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 2. We ride on the subway.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 3. They are riding their bikes.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 4. Do you make candy?
_________________________________________________________________________________ 5. She does not understand.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 6. Do they do the work?
_________________________________________________________________________________ 7. I am going to the same class.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 9. She arrives by ten.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 10. Sabrina writes several notes.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Comparison of Regular and Irregular Verbs
The regular verbs are the easiest to work with. Since there are no unusual changes to make in the conjugations, they follow very neat patterns. With irregular verbs, you must remember that the past tense and the participle are formed with vowel changes. Let’s look at three verbs and how they appear in all the tenses:
exercise 5-21
Rewrite the following present tense sentences in the other five tenses.
1. Sig buys a car. past
_________________________________________________________________________________ present perfect
past perfect
Going to and used to are two important phrases that cause a tense change. Use going to as a substitute for shall or will in the future tense. Use used to as a substitute for the simple past tense. Combine going to or used to with an infinitive:
He will learn English. ➞ He is going to learn English.
When you use to be going to to express the future tense, you imply that the action is something you
intend to do. When you use used to to express the past tense, you imply that the action is something that had been a habit.
You can also use going to in the past tense (was/were going to) to express something that you had intended doing:
I was going to buy a new car but changed my mind. Were you going to visit your aunt?
exercise 5-22
Rewrite the following present tense sentences (1) in the future tense with going to and (2) in the past tense with used to.
1. Bill takes a class at the university.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 5. The children watch television every evening.
_________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ 6. Does she spend a lot of money?
_________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________
EXAMPLES: I read the novel.
I was going to read the novel.
7. They sold the old SUV.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 8. Liz began her studies at the university.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 9. The twins lived together in San Francisco.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 10. Did the attorney find a new witness?
Unit 6
Auxiliary Verbs
You have already encountered three auxiliary (or helping) verbs: be, do, and have. They are conjugated and used with another verb to change that verb’s meaning or tense:
I go → I am going (changed to in progress or incomplete) you sing → do you sing? (changed to a question)
she makes → she has made (changed to the present perfect tense)
Auxiliary verbs like these are followed by an infinitive:
exercise 6-1
Rewrite each sentence twice in the present tense: once by adding can and once by adding want to.
1. Serena buys a new car.
_________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ 2. We borrow some money.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 3. I leave at ten o’clock.
_________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ 4. The boys have cereal for breakfast.
_________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ 5. My sister is home by 6:00 P.M.
_________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ 6. They travel to California.
_________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ 7. Mr. Gutierrez carries the groceries for her.
_________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________
exercise 6-2
Remove the auxiliary in each sentence and rewrite the sentence appropriately.
1. You ought to stay in bed all day.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 2. I should try hard.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 3. My brother may be a little late.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 4. We need to find a room for the night.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 5. Ms. Brown is able to get out of bed today.
6. Ramon must remain at home today. 9. His girlfriend wants to sell her condo.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 10. Do you have to work every day?
_________________________________________________________________________________ When you use some of the auxiliaries with a verb, you tell to what degree of obligation someone has
to carry out the action of the verb. Look at the sentences below. The first one shows the least degree of obligation. This is something someone doesn’t have to do. The last sentence shows the greatest degree of obligation. This is something that someone absolutely must do.
“We may return the books.” (Least obligation. It’s our choice.) “We can return the books.” (Little obligation. It’s our choice.)
“We are able to return the books.” (Little obligation. We have the ability to do this.) “We need to return the books.” (Slight obligation.)
“We ought to return the books.” (Little obligation, but this would be a good idea.) “We should return the books.” (Little obligation, but this would be a good idea.)
“We are supposed to return the books.” (Some obligation. Someone has suggested we do this.)
“We must return the books.” (Greatest obligation. It is our duty to do this.) “We have to return the books.” (Greatest obligation. It is our duty to do this.)
When you add an auxiliary to a sentence, use the same tense for the auxiliary as that of the original verb. For example: “Celeste found (past tense) a recent biography.” When you add have to to that sentence, you say, “Celeste had to (past tense) find a recent biography.”
exercise 6-3
Rewrite the following sentences with the auxiliary shown in parentheses. Be sure to keep the same tense as in the original sentence.
1. Mr. Weston drives to Arizona. (to have to)
2. We borrowed some tools from him. (to need to)
_________________________________________________________________________________ 3. I left for Mexico on the tenth of May. (to want to)
_________________________________________________________________________________ 4. Ms. McAdam will help you. (to be able to)
_________________________________________________________________________________ 5. Jolene repairs the car. (ought to)
_________________________________________________________________________________ 6. Did you understand them? (can)
_________________________________________________________________________________ 7. Aaron worked on Saturday. (to be supposed to)
_________________________________________________________________________________ 8. She orders the cake today. (must)
_________________________________________________________________________________ 9. Have you filled out the application? (to be able to)
_________________________________________________________________________________ 10. Our neighbors will paint their house. (to want to)
Unit 7
Passive Voice
The passive voice is a structure that allows you to make a statement without knowing who performed the action of the sentence: The house was destroyed. Or the person who performed the action is placed in a passive position in the sentence: The house was destroyed by soldiers.
An active sentence is commonly structured subject 1 verb 1 direct object. A passive sentence changes that structure to direct object used as the subject 1 to be 1 past participle 1 by 1 subject
used as the object of the preposition. Let’s compare the two structures:
The verb to be in the passive sentences is conjugated in the same tense as the verb in the active sentences. Look how the various tenses appear in the passive:
the house is destroyed/the house is being destroyed the house was destroyed/the house was being destroyed
exercise 7-1
Rewrite the passive sentences below as an action in progress. Keep the same tense.
1. Glenda is kissed by Stuart.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 2. She was spoiled by her parents.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 3. My eyes are tested in the clinic.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 4. They were arrested for a crime.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 5. Monique is awarded a medal.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 6. The treasure was buried on an island.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 7. The dog is punished again.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 8. Was the old barn burned down?
_________________________________________________________________________________
exercise 7-2
Rewrite the passive sentences below in the present perfect tense.
1. We were punished by Father.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 2. The men are taken prisoner.
3. She is thanked by the happy tourists.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 4. I was beaten by a robber.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 5. The car was not washed again.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 6. Tony is examined by the doctor.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 7. They are surrounded by the enemy.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 8. Was your sister fired from her job?
_________________________________________________________________________________ 9. Was the baby carried to his bedroom?
_________________________________________________________________________________ 10. She is congratulated by her boss.
_________________________________________________________________________________
exercise 7-3
Rewrite the following active sentences as passive sentences. Keep the same tense.
1. A storm destroyed the cottage.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 2. Did Columbus discover the New World?
_________________________________________________________________________________ 3. They will buy our house.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 4. My grandmother has baked the cakes.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 5. Phil is cutting the bread.
6. Sergio was selling the newspapers.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 7. Has Iris taken the money?
_________________________________________________________________________________ 8. She will kiss the baby.
_________________________________________________________________________________ 9. Is Max building the fence?
_________________________________________________________________________________ 10. Her brother forgot the map.
